DORADO, Puerto Rico – Carlos Delgado lives across the street from TPC Dorado Beach, but laughs when he admits he doesn’t really play much golf because during his decorated Major League Baseball career as a first baseman he didn’t have as many days off to pick up the game, “like pitchers.� But Delgado, now 45, is one of the key celebrities on site this week at TPC Dorado Beach as the Puerto Rico Open Charity Pro-Am. He’s one of most celebrated Puerto Rican baseball players of all time, having hit more home runs and knocked in more RBIs than any of his countrymen. He said this week is an important one for the island, as it helps to show people watching on TV that Puerto Rico is once again for open for business after the devastation of last year’s Hurricane Maria. “People know that we’re capable of hosting a tournament this big again. Putting together an outing like this and having it benefit a lot of organizations is great,� he said. “Hopefully by 2019 it’ll be a great event and all the pros will come in and we can use it as a bigger platform to show off Puerto Rico and tell the world we’re ready to host a great event.� Delgado said he couldn’t speak to his parents for nearly a week after the hurricane – the most devastating natural disaster in Puerto Rico’s history – and didn’t realize the scope of the devastation until the Internet and TV stations came back online. He admitted it was a sad sight to see his country in ruins, but now things have turned around. There’s a heightened sense of Puerto Rican pride and the whole island is rallying together to help out. He visited over 30 municipalities across the island in the immediate few days after the hurricane and every area looked different, he said. Jose Guzman won the 1991 MLB Comeback Player of the Year award and was a pitcher for nine years with the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs. He said the worst thing for him during the hurricane was that he tried for almost two weeks to get a hold of his family, but he couldn’t get through. “You sit down and have your dinner and you’re thinking: ‘where’s my family?’ he said. They were OK, and although the first time tournament organizers called him he had some things to do, he quickly realized that playing in this event was for his country. “People still need to know we need help, and that’s what we’re here for,� he said. “I was born and raised here and I will do anything I need to do to help this country.� That’s been a common refrain from the celebrities who were here this week, as Puerto Ricans have spent the last few months banding together to rebuild. “Weather is beautiful again. There’s a lot of work to be done and a lot to learn from this experience like how to react, how to react quicker, how to prepare… and September will roll around and we’re going to have hurricane season again, a lot quicker than we thought it’d be. But you just have to be ready and hopefully we never experience that,� said Delgado. “If that is the case, I hope Maria taught us a lesson.� Ivan ‘Pudge’ Rodriguez, a first-ballot baseball Hall of Fame member and World Series champion, spends most of his time in Florida, but was one of the first to answer the call for this event as the native Puerto Rican’s parents and extended family were on the island during the hurricane last year. “It was pretty tough,� he said. “It was devastating.� Rodriguez is a golf lover, but he said he’s playing this week for a greater purpose. “I always love to be involved. I’ve been helping in Puerto Rico for a while. An event like this, we sat down and I said I would work with them and do everything we can, and that’s why I’m here,� he said. Rodriguez and Delgado both pointed to the positivity of the Puerto Rican people as a key thing over the last few months as the recovery efforts were under way. “We think that Puerto Rico is the greatest country in the world,� said Delgado. “We didn’t want to see it as devastated as it was after Maria, so we wanted to do stuff to make it better. We’re not quite there yet, but slowly but surely we’re getting there.� Rodriguez said the PGA TOUR and all the sponsors have done a great job so far of raising money to help the needs of Puerto Rico, and although not all the golf courses are open yet, he waxed poetic about how great the sport is on the island. “It’s one of the favourite sports to play, and especially at this beautiful place,� he said of TPC Dorado Beach. After 10 years the Puerto Rico Open was replaced on the TOUR schedule this year with this year’s unique event that saw past TOUR winners and fellow professionals alongside LPGA Tour players and Puerto Rican celebrities like Delgado, Rodriguez and Guzman to raise money for the island’s relief efforts. The group has already raised more than $500,000 and is primed to bring in more by the time the event concludes. It will return in 2019 as a full-fledged PGA TOUR event.
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